Xmas Wish List 2015 ★

hello darlings, yes it's almost that time of year again, it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. So here's a post featuring some of the delectable treats that i'd love to find under the Christmas tree this year.

As per usual, there's a mix of reasonable (aka affordable) gifts along with some more unattainable (aka super expensive) ones because it's Christmas and I'm allowed to dream! I've also included some of my favourite arty online sellers because Christmas is the perfect time to support small businesses.

You might see something and think 'ooh that's perfect for...' but let me tell you, ALL of the things on the list are perfect for me, I'm just saying!

So Santa Baby if you're reading this, please take note! Because this year I've been an awful good girl...

1. a retro style enamel pin from Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes

I love love LOVE the work of Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes, aka Sally. She always uses lots of fun and bright colours in her work (and we all know how I feel about anything bright and colourful!) and her designs are so cute, I love everything she creates.

I've been lusting after one of her kitschy cute enamel pins for a while now and if you think you'd like one too, you can find them HERE along with all sorts of other cute bits n' bobs!

EDIT: ok so after I started writing this post I actually kind of TREATED myself to the roller skate pin anyway... so I should probably take this one off the list but I'm NOT going to because Sally's work is just so nice. My blog, my rules. On with the list.

2. a Boy Tears cup from Sugar Luxe Shop

if you're a regular reader then you'll know by now that i'm ALL ABOUT the whole Girl Gang and Girl Power thing (you only have to look at my artwork to be able to see it) so this year I would LOVE to add one of these brilliant cups or mugs to my life. I mean, what else am I supposed to drink all the fresh boy tears out of?!

cups and mugs + LOADS of other Girl Gang goodies available HERE

3. A pair of 'my little biker' boots in black from Minna Parikka 

you only need to look at these boots to be able to see why I might want them so badly! Despite using every shade of the rainbow in my work, I rarely dress in any other colour than black or dark blue/red so these boots are PERFECT for me as they combine my love of candy coloured embroidery AND comfortable, functional boots. + you know they'd match my Girl Gang vest perfectly.

They're a little on the pricey side, but you can find them HERE

4. A cute zipper pouch from Danny Brito

I'm a big fan of Danny Brito's work (his instagram feed is always very colourful) and I just love these little handmade zipper pouches! I'd really like one for my handbag, or you know, several... for every handbag.

Anyway, there are loads of different designs to choose from + his shop is filled with other brilliant stuff, available HERE

5. a set of Literary Paper Dolls from Waterstones

yeah, yeah I know... I'm a big geek! But so what. Last year I had a few Poe inspired items on the wish list so it seems only fair that I add something similar this year. This set has 16 different authors including Edgar Allan Poe, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare.  I keep seeing these in my local Waterstones and I REALLY want them!

Why? well because I LOVE paper dolls and I LOVE books so obviously I'm going to want these. Available HERE

6. A Bernie Dexter Paris Dress 

I really really really REALLY like this dress. I saw it in the Summer in Cork, Ireland and I really REGRET not getting it when I had the chance, or at least trying it on. It goes against my every instinct to wrap myself up in black from head to toe but It's just so pretty and I wannnnnnnt it!

you can find it HERE along with dozens of other dreamy dresses.

7. A Chameleon necklace from Hello Dodo

This is another one of those things I've been longing to get. I really like Hello Dodo's bright and vibrant designs but I always end up coming back to the 'George the Chameleon' necklace because LOOK AT IT!   

 He would totally match every outfit as well. The ideal accessory, available HERE

8. an Ampersand Colouring Book from Tim Easley

 I'm not really a huge fan of all these 'adult colouring books' floating around at the moment. As someone who basically 'colours in' for a living, they just don't really appeal to me. But if there's two things I love it's typography and a nice bold outline.

Luckily the two are combined to perfection in Tim Easley's magical Ampersand Colouring Book, featuring 32 brilliant original illustrations to colour in! I've been a fan of Tim's work for years and I have several of his stickers and cards dotted about on my 'walls of stuff' but I think he's really done a cracking job on this new colouring book, and I for one would LOVE to colour it in!

if you like colouring stuff in as well, the book is available to order HERE

9. a cute retro style brooch from Luxulite

if you've ever seen any of my outfit post then you'll know that I have a penchant for 50's style flared skirts and vintage tailoring. Well I've been lusting after a Luxulite brooch of my very own for a looooong time now and I recently found out that Katy, the mastermind behind Luxulite, is originally a Manxie as well which has made my love for her pretty brooches grow even more ardent!

red is my favourite colour so one of her classic 'cherry' brooches would make the perfect addition to any outfit! available right HERE

and last but my no means least...

10. a Ghostbusters Firehouse from Lego 

were you honestly expecting anything less? I already have the car so it makes sense that I should have the Firehouse HQ as well. Sure it's going to retail at about £300 but COME ON...
I neeeeeed it, I really, really do!

If I were still a kid (and lets face it, I pretty much am) this would be at the TOP of my wish list to Santa!I don't need to tell you how much I LOVE Ghostbusters! And I definitely LOVE Lego, so I really do genuinely NEED to own this. It takes 4634 pieces of Lego to build one of these, and that is a challenge I'll gladly rise to. As soon as possible really...

so if anyone *cough, mum, cough* wants to be super sweet and generous and buy this for me, it's available for Pre-Order HERE

so there you have it, another year, another list of random stuff I 'probably' won't wake up to on Christmas morning (but who knows?!)

what's at the top of your Xmas Wish List this year???

personally I'm hoping for some new books, pyjamas, maybe some chocolates! You know... if I don't end up with anything off this list ^_^

so until next time, thanks for stopping by, see you again soon (hopefully).

Creative Café #28 ★

so i did it again didn't i, i vanished a for a few days and forgot that actually yes, i do run a blog from time to time. As per usual i have good excuses though, you can be sure of that!

anyway on with the post, today it's a Creative Café post which can mean only one thing...

time for the drill! so go, go now and get yourself a snack or beverage or something otherwise it takes the whole 'Café' part out of the Creative Café. i mean obviously if this were a real Café i'd be the one to go and fetch you a drink and a snack but this isn't a real café. it's a blog. so no such luck.

anyway, back to the post. today it's all about super talented designer, illustrator, evil mastermind and professional sneaker aficionado Tim Easley



i first discovered Tim's work some time last year via Twitter. i can't actually remember when it was i just know that it was through Twitter and that i really liked his style of illustration straight away.



i know i always say that when i do these posts but it was definitely true for Tim's work (it was true for the others as well i'm just trying to make a point here! i'll just give up shall i). i also won a little Xmas card and zombie moustache sticker off him last December and i can tell you now that i spent a very happy hour wandering around the house wearing my zombie moustache sticker when it arrived.

I could sit here and type up a heap of zany made up stuff about Tim but i thought it would make more sense to just borrow this from his website instead: "Tim Easley is a self taught designer & illustrator from London, who likes to work with hand drawn lettering, bright colours & bold lines. He creates work from uniquely imaginative concepts, matching seemingly unrelated subject matters in playful & explorative illustrations.

Having previously lived in Tokyo & Seattle, he is now based back in his home town, where he works in a variety of mediums, predominantly creating art for freelance projects & prints. His illustrations have been featured in a number of publications internationally, as well as being sold & exhibited worldwide.

Most days Tim can be found in his studio with some inappropriately placed pencils, daydreaming and doodling, surrounded by pretty ladies & piles of gold." 



all of that definitely sums him up better than i ever could! but the point is, he's a really talented guy and he creates all sorts of very groovy stuff using funky colours and nice bold outlines. his themes are often peculiar but brilliantly drafted to create wacky and wonderful scenes and characters. he also co-founded 'Crooked Tongues' which is apparently the place to go for anything sneaker related online. who knew!



i find Tim's work really inspiring, probably because we're both perfectionists and use similar bold outlines. but he's also full of great tips, useful criticism and advice for any and all creative types out there, and it's not just because Tim is older and wiser (he is though...) he just seems to have a great eye for what works and what doesn't when it comes to graphic design, typography and illustration making his own work a brilliant fusion of creative awesomeness that will make your brain go 'wow'.



that's why i wanted to feature his work on here, because i admire his stuff so much. oh and it's also because the other day i treated myself to one of Tim's rather fetching little tote bags (well i needed somewhere to store my impressive beach pebble collection...) and when it arrived he'd sent a stack of other papery goodies along with it which cheered me up no end

anyway there's probably a lot more that i could say about his work but my brain isn't cooperating fully today and i think i've rambled on for long enough now, so i'll leave you all to scroll through some more of Tim's work in your own sweet time, enjoy...

there you see, i told you it was all awesome! and i am usually always right...

ok time for some links now.


to see even more of Tim's work you can head on over to his website here - Tim Easley

he also has a great online shop selling rather lovely prints, stickers, postcards, totes, notebooks and other things that you might like to treat yourself or someone else to - Tim Easley | Store

you can also 'Like' Tim's work on Facebook - Tim Easley

and follow him on Twitter - @timeasley

he also has a Flickr page full of wonderful things for your eyes to feast on - Flickr


ok all that's left now is for me to say a whopping great 'thank you' to Tim for not telling me to go jump off a cliff when i asked him if i could run a blog post featuring some of his work. so thanks for that :)


All images featured in this post belong to Tim Easley © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce of trace ANY of this work without his express written consent. All Rights Reserved.

* * *

in other news, i've been very busy this week, so busy in fact that i forgot to say a big THANK YOU to everyone that entered the Blog Birthday Giveaway!!!

my blog turned 3 years old on Wednesday, unfortunately i was working all morning and at a meeting all afternoon so i completely forget to celebrate this fact

the giveaway closed on Wednesday night at midnight, it was a great success and the 3 winners have now been notified but thank you thank you thank you to everyone that entered it!

the next giveaway will be held exclusively on Twitter to celebrate my finally having reached 1000 followers on there, but to be in with a chance of winning you MUST be following me on Twitter - @jadeboylan

anyway until next time, that's all folks... xX

Gingerbread Cottage ★

so i may have mentioned it already but i'm not feeling particularly festive and christmassy this year! no advent calendar, no decorations, no festive spirit whatsoever!

well to try and drag myself out of this bout of doom and gloom i had a little go at decorating a Gingerbread House (well mine is more of a cottage but it's supposed to be a house i guess!) using a nifty little kit from Ikea

the 'PEPPARKAKA HUS' kit contained a flat pack set of gingerbread panels ready to be assembled into a little house!

it was actually LOADS of fun to build and decorate! even if my decorating skills aren't exactly the neatest...

i bought in a bunch of sweets + tubes of icing to use and i'm not going to lie, i had a lot of fun icing it all and sticking on the sweeties!

next year i might just have a go at baking one from scratch myself but for now... this will have to do!

* * *

in other news, the very uber cool Tim Easley (illustrator, graphic designer and sneaker aficionado) sent me one of his groovy little Rudolph Xmas cards 

as well as a very awesome Zombie Moustache sticker

truly coolio stuff for sure! big thanks to Tim!!! to get your hands on your very own Rudolph Card head on over HERE (+ they're on SALE at the moment!) or for a 'too cool for school' Zombie Moustache sticker, head over HERE

* * *

in other OTHER news, last night i finally switched my Facebook over to the new Timeline, although this isn't the most exciting news in the world, i did have fun fitting together a little 'website matching' cover image for my profile page!

do you like it? or loathe it... 

* * *

not much else to tell for now, i spent today zooming around Douglas and Onchan delivering Xmas presents to various cousins and family members! but hopefully i'll have some more stuff to share with you all tomorrow night or Xmas eve!

son until next time, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX